As I write this, the battle for Sirte, Colonel Gaddafi’s birthplace, seems to be entering the final phase. As many as 10,000 people have fled the city, NATO airstrikes continue and reports of major casualties and an acute shortage of medical supplies reinforce the hope that the fighting will cease soon. Then only Bani Walid will remain among Libya’s major cities in the hands of Gaddafi loyalists.

Last week in Tripoli the sense of triumphalism was palpable. [Read more…]